


The Princess Bride

by drippingpen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canonical Character Death, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Just a little angst- i'm a fluff kinda gal, M/M, Mutual Pining, Princes & Princesses, Slow Burn, flustered bois, gender reveal (pidge), klance, not so much in the first chapter but when the competition starts hoo boy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 14:09:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9275450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drippingpen/pseuds/drippingpen
Summary: In hopes of saving their country from the Galra Empire, five princes must compete against each other for Princess Allura's hand in marriage.Too bad two of them are 100% gay for the other**it's keith and lance; they are the gay





	

**Author's Note:**

> shoutout to [maixiem](http://maixiem.tumblr.com/) for their amazing art that inspired this!!
> 
>  
> 
> [the art](https://letlancelive.tumblr.com/post/155551947752/maixiem-prince-lance-and-his-knight-keith%0A/)
> 
>  
> 
> enjoy!

Lance was never big on patience. It never agreed with him, and quite frankly, he never agreed with it. Whenever he was forced to wait, and, god forbid, be alone with his thoughts, he would instantly begin obsessing over the things he could and should be doing instead. Like training with his bow, sneaking food away from the chef, playing pranks on his older sister-in-laws, or flirting with anyone within a 5-foot radius. Lance would become desperate like a mad man- anything was better than waiting. 

Lance glared at the road ahead. It stretched on far beyond what he could discern, mocking him with its apparent never-ending nature. Lance groaned and slumped further into his carriage’s seat. The journey from his home country, Ocepia, to Altea was supposedly only two weeks travel time. But, two weeks were slowly morphing into a century to Lance. However much he urged on and pestered the drivers, they refused to go any faster than a death crawl. Apparently the whole “twenty-one cases of jewelry” and “two wagons of clothing" were slowing them down. But packing anything less would have been a tragedy. Lance had to look his absolute best when wooing his future wife. 

Well, technically he wasn’t betrothed to her yet, per say. Technically, Lance was one of the few princes in the neighboring kingdoms that had only been _informed_ of Princess Allura’s eligibility. The letter stated that in a month’s time, Altea would be holding a competition for Allura’s hand to any royal bachelor. It was strange seeing such an archaic formal request of courtship. Nothing like this had be done in years. Generally, now princes and princesses visited kingdoms as they pleased, courting only those they were interested in. Lance’s father deducted that the urgency  of the request must have something to do with the war against Galra on Altea’s borders. 

Seeing as Lance was the eldest bachelor in his family, he was immediately sent off to marry the beautiful Altean princess. Altea had continually proven to the neighboring kingdoms that they were advanced in all departments: the arts, diplomacy, culture, weaponry. A union with them would guarantee a flourishing nation and a strong army against the steady rise of the Galra Empire. And it didn’t hurt that Lance was absolutely infatuated with Princess Allura. His parents had caught him more than once trying to steal the small painting of her that had been included in the letter. 

And as exciting as the prospect of meeting the woman had been at first, it was slowly tortured out of Lance as he traveled wearily on. Now, all Lance could even muster a bit of excitement for was sleeping on an actual mattress- not the shitty look-a-likes the inns advertised. Lance’s back ached and his head pounded. They were nearly there. Just a couple days more of bumpy roads and horse shit and mean knights stopping him from taking ‘too many flower picking breaks’. Just a couple more days. 

The carriage driver knocked on the wood from above. Lance opened the small sliding door separating them and waited for whatever the man would say. _Maybe we’re getting robbed._ Lance thought hopefully. _Maybe I’ll be murdered in the process and this godforsaken horror will all end in a blissful slumber._

“Looks like we’re getting there sooner than expected,” the driver shouted from above. “Seems to be only a day away.” Lance nearly cried from joy. He glanced out of the window and stared out into the road. He couldn’t tell if it was his delirious imagination or what, but in the distance, he swore he could see a small white dot resembling something of a castle. 

“Is that it up ahead?” he yelled back, squinting at the horizon. 

“Sure is!” the driver cried out. “Ya know, Altea has quite an interesting-“  
Lance quickly shut the divider once more. No time for the driver’s never ending chit-chat. The sudden burst of energy flowed through his veins as he grinned wickedly. One more day? _We can do better than that,_ Lance thought. He stuck his head out of the carriage window and looked at the group of knights following him. He studied the crowd, searching for the one knight that was gripping the reins to Lance’s personal nykin. The feathered beast was close to the front, shuffling uneasily in its slow pace. Poor creature probably wanted nothing more to do than to break away and race down the rocky street. The prince motioned for its guard to bring her over. The knight complied, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. Lance watched as they moved closer, admiring how the nykin’s blue feathers fluffed in excitement as they neared Lance. He was still debating the theory on whether Blue could read his mind or not, she always seemed to anticipate Lance’s actions long before he made any indication. God, he really missed racing with her down the sandy dunes of Ocepia. She was the fastest nykin around; they worked in complete harmony, absolutely obliterating anyone who dared to race them. 

Blue started tugging at her reigns, pulling the knight forward. Lance was almost completely leaning out of the window, forcing his body out as far as it would go without completely throwing himself to the dirt road. 

“Prince Lance! Please return to your seat!” The knight shouted. Lance ignored him and gave a small nod to Blue. This was all she needed. With a sudden jerk, she pulled herself away from the knight’s grasp and raced towards the carriage. Lance held out his arms and, as Blue slowed pass the window, hooked onto the nykin’s neck. Blue gave a tug and pulled the prince out of the window, securing him onto her back. Lance grabbed the reigns as Blue surged forwards, leaving  the exasperated company far behind them. He grinned after hearing the knights groan in annoyance at the rebellious prince. They picked up speed behind him, trying to catch their ward, but no one in all the eight kingdoms was any match for Lance and his incredible nykin.

 

Spare for Keith and his verpa. The furry beast and his rider were famous for their speed and agility. Despite their nation’s unofficial isolation, word of the amazing rider and his beast spread like wildfire throughout the kingdoms. Everyone knew of Prince Keith and many came from all around to race him, each leaving with defeat scrawled on their faces. Although Keith was proud of his accomplishments and records, he still gained more joy from purely the ride itself. Wrestling against the wind, blood pounding in his ears, the simplicity of complete instincts. No thoughts, no disappointments, just the race. It was one of the only things Keith didn’t feel he utterly failed at when it came to being a prince. 

Unfortunately, diplomacy was not included in his small batch of princely skills. It wasn’t a matter of competency, but more of a matter of caring. He couldn’t muster two shits about Lord Erwin’s rodent problem, or how Lady Agin never attended the royal decrees, or the many (too many) princesses that visited him in hopes of marriage. Keith would have rather been a general in the army, fighting against the despicable Galra (and his constant training demonstrated that). But seeing as he was the only child of his family, Keith was born to be a diplomat. 

That’s why when his family had received Allura’s invitation, they immediately stuffed him in a nearby carriage and waved hasta la later, feigning tears at their departing son. They were obviously hoping that the nicknamed ‘Sole Beauty of Eight Nations’ would finally spark Keith’s interest. 

They were wrong.

Keith glanced longingly at the exit for the twentieth time that hour. It was only at the end of the hall, and yet he was trapped by diplomacy once again. Allura paused her conversation as a new peasant walked up to the center of the throne room. Just like a true diplomat, Allura listened carefully to the peasant’s difficulty, her eyes filled with sincereness. Keith was standing at the side of the court among the other suitors. Each allied kingdom except Ocepia was represented. There was the big guy from Westina; a warm region given his yellow flowing robes. Next to him was the guy from the small kingdom of Peastopia. His small stature was swallowed by his baggy vest and tunic. Keith was surprised that he could get away with such a comfortable attire without being called unprincely. If Keith had worn that in his home, he would have been mistaken for a stable boy. Instead, Keith opted for a well-fitted jacket buttoning up on the left breast. His clothing reminded him of the military uniform and became one of the sole reasons for his choice. However, it was nothing compared to what Prince Shiro from Respute was wearing. Keith was secretly jealous of Shiro’s military uniform, sharp and crisp, colored with a simple dark black. In Keith’s opinion, it beat out his flashy red clothing any day. 

Shiro nudged him, urging him to focus. Keith’s eyes had been glazing over and apparently, quite a few ladies of the court had been giggling about it. Damn diplomacy. What was the point of all these people anyway? What possible thing could they be contributing when it was Allura who was helping the peasants? Either way, Keith didn’t think he was necessary. Sure, it was ‘recommend’ that he see his possible future wife in action, and yes, she was kind as well as smart, but that didn’t stop Keith from attempting to inch towards the exit. 

Just as he was about to be successfully swallowed up by the crowd, Shiro pulled the prince back into his assigned position. Keith glowered. Oh-ho-ho look at Shiro being all ‘responsible’ and ‘princely’. In a very unprincely manner, Keith stuck his tongue out at Shiro, earning him a huffed laugh from the man (as well as a couple giggles from the ladies of the court). Allura, still nodding as she listened to the peasant, darted her eyes in the direction of the noise. All of the princes immediately stood straighter and the giggling completely ceased. 

Suddenly, the back of the room quieted. In the distance, shouts and yells from the guards were heard. A sound of an object clattering to the ground interrupted Allura entirely as something was rapidly approaching the throne room. Was someone attacking the castle? Keith instinctively moved his hand to his dagger, ready for a fight. If anyone would be attacking, the day of peasant complaints would be the perfect opportunity. The bridge over the moat would be down and the gates open. Quickening steps were nearing the throne room; it was close enough for Keith to hear the nails of the creature click against the marble. The guards circled around the princess, their weapons raised. Purely running off survival instincts, the peasants shrieked as they moved out of the way for the oncoming beast and its rider. A great feathered thing raced in, skidding inches away from the pointed spears of the guards. It squawked at the sudden stop of speed. 

Out of all the things Keith had expected to see that day, a giant bird rode in by a half naked man was low on the list. The creature was incredible, its neck was long and covered in small electric blue feathers; its head feathers furling out into a sort of mane. The creature shook its mane impatiently, the feathers glistening in the small amount of light. The strong legs shifted around the marble as it struggled to find a good grip on the glossy surface. It was obviously made for softer ground than this. The round hazel eyes looked curiously around the room, briefly glancing over the dumbstruck prince. Keith wondered what kind of walnut would bring such a wild, wonderful creature into the horrid contains of the castle. 

However, the rider was just as much as a surprise to Keith as the creature was. He sat proud on his beast, his dark skin littered with light blue symbols shimmering. A white ghutra covered the man’s head, but Keith could still make out a few strands of dark hair framing his long face. Keith eyes slowly traced down the man’s exposed chest, the only thing covering him was a thin, silky one-shouldered robe. The man grinned mischievously at the crowd of people, completely unfazed by the spears pointed directly at him. He looked like a prophesied god, arriving to the mortal world on some incredible quest. 

The man’s eyes landed on the princess. His grin widened as he leaned forward on his beast and rested his arms on the creature’s head. The bird chirped back. 

“Princess Allura, that amazing picture you sent did not do your beauty justice,” he cooed at the confused woman. She just raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to state his business. Unruffled at her blasé reaction to his compliment, he continued. “I have traveled all the way from the glittering waters of Ocepia to introduce myself to you, gorgeous princess.” He sat back up, gripping his reigns and puffing his chest out in the cliche Princely PoseTM. Despite the man’s engrossing presence, it was no match for the love affair Keith had with rolling his eyes. 

“I am Prince Lance Sanchez of Ocepia, third son to King Amador the Kind and Queen Enricua the Strong. I am the Defender of the Weak, Enemy to the Garla, Beauty of Man, Greatest Bowsman, Fastest Nykin Racer in all the Eight Nations, and,” he paused, giving Allura a quick wink. “…your future husband.”

The chamber was silent with shock. Such an entrance was completely uncalled for, boisterous, arrogant, pompous, and- and so _goddam fascinating._ Keith couldn’t pull his eyes away from the new prince. Just in the way he was sitting on his steed, unabashedly controlling every person’s attention with just a small grin, it was absolutely infuriating and Keith couldn’t get enough. The Princess looked unamused as if she had seen it all before. Sure, half naked guys flying into throne rooms glowing like the sun- totally normal everyday shit. She may not have been interested in Prince Lance, but Keith sure as hell was. 

Princess Allura merely scoffed and gestured for the knights to drop their weapons. The guards lowered their spears and retreated slowly into their previous positions, still suspicious of the newcomer. As the threat disappeared, the giant bird began to trot around the room, ruffling her feathers to put on a show for the gaping lords and ladies.

“We welcome you, Prince Lance, and your… company, into our castle with open arms,” Allura finally said, her eyes following the circling prince.

“Gee, thanks sweetheart,” Lance joyously grinned back. He made no move to calm his beast as it began to near a lady holding a bit of bread. It chirped at the woman and looked down at her with its great hazel eyes. The woman blushed and quickly relieved the pastry to the bird, giggling at the squawks of happiness as it gobbled it down.

“Do you… have any luggage that we may place in one of our guest rooms?” Allura said, trying to capture the attention of the distracted prince. Lance slipped a quick wink at the lady and looked back up to the annoyed princess. 

“Ahh, not currently… the rest of my company was slowing down my arrival and I couldn’t wait a single second more in anticipation of seeing your stunning beauty,” Lance smirked, reveling in the giggles that escaped the group of ladies in waiting. “My company, and the gifts I have brought you should be arriving later today. Until then, is there someplace where I can care for my beautiful baby Blue?” Lance began affectionally scratching the bird’s head, eliciting a purr from the creature. 

“Of course,” Allura nodded and glanced at one of the guards near her. “Please show him to the stables and give him anything he needs to care for the… steed.” Lance smiled at the approaching guard and followed him out of the great throne room. 

“Till we meet again, princess!” Lance shouted out before disappearing behind the wooden doors. Allura rolled her eyes once more and turned back to the cowering peasants, trying to calm them with her soothing words. Fucking princes and their goddam entrances. 

Shiro stifled a laugh at the princess’s strained expression. The competition could now finally begin seeing as all of the princes had arrived, more or less. He turned to Keith, hoping to quietly discuss the recent events, but was greeted with an empty spot next to him instead. Shiro subtly looked around the throne room, not wanting to attract any attention.  In defeat, he sighed and shook his head. The Prince of Teltior was nowhere to be found.

* * *

“Soooo…. do you come here often?” Lance wiggled his eyebrows at the knight. The man, completely desensitized to Lance’s attempts at flirting by now, just grunted in response. Lance pouted, annoyed at the too-official nature of all the guards in Altea. Back in Ocepia, all the servants had quickly adapted to Lance’s flirtatious habits and even enjoyed playing along. At first, some of the royal advisors scolded him for this behavior, stating that “Princes do not flirt with the poor!” but they quickly lifted their ban once Lance began directing his affection towards them exclusively. But, apparently, despite Altea’s progressive reputation, the guards did not flirt back. Pity. Lance was always a sucker for a guy in armor. 

The man moved them through the grassy plains and towards the large wooden stables. Lance could hear the whinny of horses and grunts from animals he did not recognize. Blue reared for a bit, eyeing the stables. Lance gently stroked the glossy feathers in a calming manner. He could feel that Blue was not entirely eager to be contained once again, she wanted to run and explore the vast plains before them. And, truth be told, Lance was dying to let her. 

A beast bellowed from within the stables. The cry shook Lance to his very core, reverberating through his entire body. Blue’s feathers puffed out in anticipation. The guard placed his hand up in front of Blue to signal a stop and they waited quietly. Seconds passed. Nothing. 

Suddenly, a whoop of excitement cheered from inside the stable. The wooden doors flew open and let loose a beautiful furry white beast and its equally wild rider clad in red. The animal reminded Lance of the coyotes in Ocepia, except this dog was giant and adorned completely in white fur, save for its pink nose and red eyes. Lance had never seen anything more devoid of color and flash before, most creatures in the tropics evolved into a beautiful multi-colored masterpiece. But this creature was completely blank, the rider bringing the only stab of red in the mess of white. It was breathless. 

Blue chirped at the wolf, her feathers fluffed out making her appear three times bigger than she actually was. The beast turned to look at her, its held tilted quizzically. After a moment of maintained eye contact, Lance squinting at the rider to discern the identity, the wolf howled out into the sky and leaped into the grassy plains. 

Lance grinned at the retreating blur of white, admiring the speed of the creature and the skill of the rider. They were almost as fast as Lance and his Blue… almost. Only person Lance could think of that could possibly have such a remarkable speed was Prince Keith of Teltior and his Verpa. But Keith would have no business in Altea seeing as Teltior rarely interfered in any wars not directly involving them. Plus, based off of the reports Lance had analyzed, he was fairly certain that the prince had no interest in marriage… more specifically marriage to women. But, that was just a theory Lance had created and thought about constantly. 

Either way, whether it was Keith or not, Lance knew one thing: he was going to race this kid….and maybe also pet the wolf. It was just- just so _fluffy._ Lance bet he could fucking drown in that fur and the prospect excited him. 

Without waiting to inform the guard of what the fuck he was doing, Lance snapped at the reigns and whooped as Blue dashed after the blur of white. The prince laughed as the guard shouted after him. What was this- the third time today? Didn’t matter, all that Lance could focus on was the shock of white and red amidst the rippling sea of green. Lance squeezed at Blue’s sides, desperate to meet the rider and his creature. Blue squawked out to the wolf and leaped out till they were neck in neck.

Lance turned to the rider, hoping to see the purple eyes Keith was rumored to have. He huffed in disappointment as a black metal mask greeted him instead. He gave the man his signature shit-eating grin, urging Blue to go a little ahead of the creature. The masked man met Lance’s speed and surpassed him by a couple feet. The wolf barked in excitement at the chance of a race, voicing what both riders were feeling. 

“You wanna go, candy cane?” Lance yelled out to the rider. 

_What the fuck is a candy cane?_ Keith thought. He ignored his confusion and decided to answer the prince by allowing Krasne to go at her full speed. The Verpa yipped back at her rider and Keith held on for dear life. The wolf pounded through the soft ground and ripped through the long grass, leaving Prince Lance in the dust. He grinned at the tanned boy’s indignant shouts. After a couple of seconds of silence, Keith assumed he had lost the prince.

“You son of a bitch!” Lance called out to the red rider. He was rapidly closing the distance between the two. Keith was surprised as to how quickly Lance had caught up, usually when Keith let Krasne go wild, people were stuck permanently 50 feet behind. But Lance was gaining on the beast, his bird attempting to give a playful nip to the Verpa’s tail.

“Oh my god, Blue!” Lance groaned, giving a quick squeeze to her sides. “Focus!” The bird squawked and ducked her head down to give a more aerodynamic shape. Lance followed the gesture and soon they were right up next to the mysterious rider once more.  
“You’re pretty good,” Keith shouted over the wind. Lance turned to look at the rider and grinned mischievously. He nudged Blue over, leaning to his left and rapidly closed the distance between them. Soon, the riders were just a foot apart. Keith stared straight ahead, hoping to god that the mask covered his blush. 

“Aw, thanks babe. Means a lot coming from you,” Lance grinned, enjoying how the rider’s neck was quickly darkening into the same shade as his jacket. Fucking _yes._ We have a blusher ladies and gentlemen! “But, like, do you want me to beat you now, or should I wait and feed your ego a bit?” The rider laughed in response.

“You fucking wish!” Keith shouted and immediately jerked at the reigns. Krasne made a sharp right turn, separating the princes once more. Thank fucking god. Keith was sure he wouldn’t have been able to hold his breath much longer. Any more prolonged closeness between him and Lance would ultimately result in Keith passing out. 

“This bitch,” Lance muttered. Blue chirped back, probably agreeing with him. Lance leaned into the turn as Blue followed the white wolf. This kid, whoever he was, was incredible. Sure, Lance had teased him earlier, but honestly, Lance wasn’t so sure his Nykin could beat whatever the hell that thing was. It was just so wild and determined and passionate and Lance still really wanted to bury his face in its soft fur. Nevertheless, Lance was intent on wiping that smirk off the rider’s face- technically he couldn’t see the rider’s face at all, but you just _know_ that dude was laughing his ass off right now. 

Keith glanced over at his shoulder, surprised to see a look a concentration replacing Lance’s usual playfulness. Lance winked at the rider as his steed slowly pulled up to the Verpa’s side. Keith desperately ignored his blush and looked down at the vast white fur, shunning the scantily dressed prince next to him. Krasne began to change her gait, adapting from quick short steps to long leaps. The Verpa barked at her rider. Keith looked up to see the drop before them.

“Wait, is that a cliff up ahead?” Lance shouted out to the rider. They were next to each at this point, unable to make a significant difference in their distance. The rider leaned forward. 

“Yup,” he said simply, and with that, leaped off the cliff. As crazy and insane as it was, Lance had to admit, that was pretty freaking hot. 

Keith closed his eyes in the exhilaration of the death drop. The slight whiplash of landing on the ground definitely sucked, and Keith was not a big fan of that, but the feeling of weightlessness and flying was worth it completely. During his stay at Altea, Keith had found this little space, the small cliff sides reminding him of his home. No matter which direction he tried pointing his Verpa towards, she always ended up here. 

Krasne landed into the dirt, lunging Keith forward in his saddle. After a couple of minutes of recuperation, Keith looked up at the cliff’s edge, waiting. He knew no one would be crazy enough to jump after him, but who knew? Prince Lance seemed pretty insane. Keith looked down at his Verpa and nudged her forwards, giving up after a few moments of paused anticipation.  

A shadow covered Keith as something leaped in front of the sun. He looked up and was almost blinded, refusing to rip his eyes away. The bird had jumped off the cliff, her wings completely outstretched, glimmering a deep blue in the shining light. Keith smiled softly as Lance whooped in excitement. The prince’s ghutra was ripped off his head in the rush of wind. The bird lazily drifted down to Keith and his Verpa, delicately landing on the ground. No whiplash at all. Keith _had_ to get him one of those.

Lance grinned stupidly at the rider, still intoxicated by the rush of the fall. He had never jumped off a cliff that high before. The only ones they had in Ocepia were directly over the rock littered waters and ensured a painful death. Blue started trotting nearer towards the wolf, her feathers slowly puffing out. The wolf yipped back at the Nykin and wagged its tail. 

“I didn’t know it could fly,” the rider started hesitantly. Lance looked up from the animal’s interactions and smiled bashfully at the masked figure. 

“Oh- um, Blue?” Lance scratched the back of his neck. “It’s not really flying as it is more like um, fancy falling…” At this, the rider laughed and began to remove his helmet. Lance tightened the grip on the reigns as he waited for the face of his rival to be revealed. And- oh fuck. He was hot.

Lance almost melted into his saddle as the man’s purple eyes met his. His skin was much lighter than what Lance was used to. It looked like he had never even seen the sun, but this created an entirely new contrast against his dark hair and eyelashes. _Welp, goodbye everyone- twas an absolute pleasure- real nice- just excuse me- imma just drown myself in a nearby lake now-_

The stranger tilted his head at Lance, and, when the flustered prince didn’t respond, moved his attention towards the Nykin. 

“Can I-“ the rider paused, biting his lip nervously _(hah yeah just fuck me up already)_. “Can I pet your um, bird?” A sigh escaped Lance. God bless, something he could talk about without completely combusting. 

“As long as I get to pet your dog,” Lance answered excitedly as he jumped off Blue. The bird chirped and began skipping around for the wolf. The white beast, in turn, crouched down to the ground and began to make small playful pounces at the bird, its tongue hanging out. 

“Hah, I don’t think that’s for me to decide,” Keith laughed. He slid off of Krasne and met Lance near his bird. He avoided looking at the prince and moved closer towards the beast. He raised his hand hesitantly and waited. Blue titled her head at the stranger, trotting nearer till her beak just glanced Keith’s fingers. He didn’t move. Blue made a small chirp and pushed closer, nuzzling the side of her head into Keith’s hand. Keith’s breath hitched as he slowly ran his fingers through the silky feathers, taking care to not rub them the wrong way. Blue just nudged closer till her head was pressed up against Keith’s cheek. He smiled into the feathers, and softly petted the small gold ones on her chest, eliciting a soft croon.

Lance stood dumbstruck at the boy cuddling with his Nykin. Well that had to be definitely one of the top ten sights in the history of everything ever. He swore Blue was smirking at his desperate ass as she nuzzled further into the stranger’s neck. Damn. His fucking bird had more game than him. He huffed at looked over to the wolf. 

It was looking just about as jealous as he was at the affection his rider was giving Blue. _Don’t you worry, buddy,_ Lance thought. _Momma’s coming._

Lance walked over to the massive creature, more than a little scared as its blood red eyes rested on him. It moved closer towards him, its giant paws padding into the hard dirt ground. Lance gulped as the beast neared its head and began sniffing Lance’s face. He was frozen, zoning in how goddam _big_ those teeth were. All the creature had to do was go _SNAP!_ and no more Lance. The beast paused, huffing its hot breath on Lance. It opened its mouth and excitedly licked the side of Lance’s face. Lance yelped in surprise and grinned into the sticky mess. Without further invitation, Lance wrapped his arms around the beast and stuffed his face into the thick fur. Lance could barely breathe and he was sure his mouth was full of hair. Needless to say, it was AMAZING. 

Lance heard the stranger give a small yell as something hit the ground. Lance was barely motivated to look, sure that Blue had pulled her signature move of tripping the rider. Lance removed his head from the wolf’s soft fur and blearily looked at his Nykin. Sure enough, Blue was sitting proudly on the ground as the man was leaning against her, laughing at the bird’s antics. Lance stared longer than necessary, his face heating up at the sound of the rider’s laugh. 

The wolf followed suit and dropped to the ground as well. It rested its head on its paws and looked lazily at Lance. The prince just grinned and flopped face down onto the mass of fur, ignoring the dramatic physical reaction the stranger seemed to have on him. If Lance could pick a moment in time to die, this would definitely hit the top of the list. 

Keith glanced over at the prince to see how he was fairing. Lance had completely buried himself in Krasne’s fur, nuzzling as deep as he could go. Keith tensed at the sight and moved to stuff his face into Blue’s feathers. He definitely was not as strong as he thought he was. Lance was going to be his downfall if he kept up all this cute shit. Keith opened an eye as Lance said something, his voice muffled by the fur. 

“What was that?” Keith called out. Lance raised his face from the wolf’s coat. 

“I said, what’s its name?” Without waiting for an answer, Lance immediately dropped his face back into the mass of fur. Keith could feel the blush travel down to his neck. GodDAMMIT. 

“Her name is Krasne. She’s an albino Verpa,” Keith answered. Blue lowered her head into her lap and tucked her beak underneath her wing, giving Keith a small trill. Keith smiled at the bird and lightly scratched her neck. 

Lance’s head shot up from the fur. He stared pointedly at Keith. 

“Wait, did you say Verpa?” he asked slowly. Keith just nodded faintly and continued petting the bird. “Wait, are you- what- what’s your name?” Keith paused. Shit. Well, it was nice while it lasted. 

“Keith,” he stated shortly. 

“Wait,” Lance sat up entirely, facing Keith. “You’re Prince Keith Kogane of Teltior?” he asked, his eyes wide in amazement. Keith grimaced and gave a curt nod. “Holy shit,” Lance breathed. Keith turned to look at the prince, gauging his reaction. Couldn’t they just go back to not knowing each other’s identities and cuddling with cute animals?

“I can’t believe it,” Lance grinned. _Me too, buddy._ “I practically beat the fastest rider in all the eight nations!” He jumped up and ran to stand in front of the sitting Keith. 

“Do you know what this means?” Lance asked excitedly, wiggling his eyebrows. Keith just shrugged. “ _I’m_ the fastest rider in all the eight nations!” Lance began a little victory dance, moving his arms up and down and he jumped around on his feet. Keith just laughed. This definitely wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Usually it was looks of disgust as people roped him in with the policies of his parents. But, this, despite the arrogance, was much better.

“Oh?” Keith smirked. “Last time I checked, I jumped off the cliff a whole minute before you.” Lance stopped his dance and rolled his eyes at the prince. 

“Yeah, that’s because I don’t have a fucking death wish. Give us a fair race, and Blue and I would have your ass mounted on our wall,” he grinned down at the rider, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach as Keith laughed once more. Lance moved down to sit next to Keith and leaned back into the soft feathers. It wasn’t as comfortable as Krasne had been, but Krasne didn’t have a pretty boy sitting on her.

As if sensing Lance’s traitorous thoughts, Krasne shuffled over to the riders and curled around Blue, engulfing all of them in a mass of white. Lance made a noise and stuffed his face once more into the soft coat. Keith absently reached up to scratch behind Krasne’s ears. At this, the Verpa’s tail started slapping the ground, stirring up a large cloud of dust. Lance coughed and Blue squawked at the big dog. The Verpa halted immediately and returned once more to her still composure. Keith fell back into the feathers and closed his eyes, fully aware of how close Lance was and how easy it would be to lean into his shoulder. 

“Name’s Lance, by the way,” Lance mumbled, his face still consumed by the massive furry coat.

Keith smirked, his eyes still closed, “I know.” At this, Lance could feel a blush creeping down his face. Keith knew who he was? _The_ Keith? The Keith he had been obsessing over for years now, requesting monthly reports of the Prince’s racing records just so he could beat them? The Keith with a mysterious past and questionable heritage? Was Keith as interested in Lance as Lance was in Keith? 

Lance pulled himself from the fur and looked at the relaxing prince. Grinning at the prospect, the prince leaned closer to Keith, their arms brushing. Keith’s eyes shot open at the motion.

“Soooo….” Lance purred, watching carefully as Keith’s face turned a deep red. “You know who I am?” Much to Lance’s dismay, the prince scooted away. 

“Yeah,” he murmured, distracting himself by petting Krasne’s soft coat. “That entrance you made was hard to miss.” Keith could feel Lance push himself back into his original position. The prince huffed and crossed his arms.

“Oh.”

Keith instantly regretted moving away, but he felt he had no other choice. He was there for reasons other than mooning over various foreign princes. He had to stay focused. 

“But, what are you doing here?” Lance asked quietly, turning his body to face Keith. “In, Altea, I mean.” Keith shifted his body till he was in the same position as Lance. Brilliant blue eyes greeted him as he turned his head to face the Ocepian prince. Well, so much for staying focused. 

“Same reason as you,” Keith answered, softly brushing the feathers between the princes in attempts to create a Gay BarrierTM, but all it did was make Keith want to reach his hand out to Lance even more. Lance pulled his eyes away from Keith’s hand, looking confusedly at the prince. 

“But, I thought you were- I mean,” Lance paused, pondering his next words very carefully. “I thought Teltior wasn’t, um, into involving themselves in other people’s business.” He didn’t want to offend the prince, he wasn’t sure where Keith stood on Teltior’s controversial policies. But, damn, this threw his gay theory way into wack. 

Keith just shrugged in response and continued to slowly stroke Blue’s feathers. Lance frowned at Keith’s expression. He had said something to upset him, he just wasn’t sure what. Lance needed to lighten the mood. 

“Hey, Keith,” Lance sat up and looked at the prince. Keith continued fiddling with one of the feathers, moving his eyes lazily to meet Lance’s. “Wanna see something really cute?” Keith honestly just wanted to continue leaning against the soft bird in silence, but he couldn’t say no to Lance’s infectious eagerness. He made no motion to leave his position but gave Lance a small nod instead. 

This was all the excited prince needed. He nudged the half asleep bird, poking the Nykin’s belly. “Come on Blue, let’s do the thing.” The bird refused to move and responded with a muffled chirp instead. Lance prodded the bird again. “Come ooonnn, do it for me?” He asked hopefully, grinning cheekily as he nuzzled the Nykin’s beak. Still, the bird remained stationary. “Jesus fuck, Blue. Do it for Keith at least.” At this the bird raised her head, looking back and forth between the two boys. After a long deliberation, the bird shimmied out from underneath the princes and reluctantly stood up.

“Atta girl!” Lance jumped up and lead the bird to an empty patch of dirt. Keith watched them, curious as to what Lance was going to do. The prince scooted back against his Verpa to better view the demonstration. 

 “Now, what you’re about to see can only stay between to two of us?” Lance said seriously. “Don’t want to become _too_ irresistible to the ladies,” he added with a wink. Keith’s mouth tugged into a smile at the comment. Lance turned to his Nykin and gave a small nod, cueing the bird to puff out her feathers till she looked like a ball fluff. Krasne yipped at this sudden change of size. Keith gave a small huff of laughter. He had to admit, that _was_ pretty cute. 

Lance held up his finger to Keith, calling for absolute silence. Keith stifled his laughter and waited patiently for whatever Lance had in store. With a loud “Hit it, Blue!” the giddy prince raised his hand to his mouth and began beatboxing a quick rhythm. At this, the Nykin made a small trill and began jumping around the dirt space, trotting to the beat as she furled out her wings and cooed out a warbling song. It looked like she was impersonating a burlesque dancer with big feather fans, shimmying her wings as she continued her fancy footwork. Unable to contain himself any longer, Keith howled with laughter at the silly display. His laughter rang throughout the small area. Keith couldn’t help but clutch at his aching sides as tears of joy threatened to spill. He didn’t seem to notice that Lance had stopped beatboxing and opted to stare at the radiant prince instead.

A horn sounded from the castle, reverberating through the small cliff side. Both princes stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the sound. 

“Probably just another dumb royal announcement,” Keith said, getting up to mount Krasne once more. Leave it to fucking diplomacy to ruin whatever the hell that dance was turning into. 

“Damn,” Lance muttered as he jumped on the saddle. “We have this whole routine planned and everything. There’s this one part where Blue starts beatboxing and I finally get to shine.” Keith let out a small laugh as they climbed to rocks up the cliff. 

“You’ll definitely have to show me it then, another time,” he said simply, pretending as if his constant blush wasn’t returning full force. _Sure buddy, why don’t you stop beating around the bush and just ask the guy on a date already._ Keith shoved the gay thoughts back into their pit of despair where they belonged. No time for that, no siree. He was here to woo a 100% female woman (complete with tits and all that jazz), not run away with a cute boy and his even cuter pet. 

“Ahhh, don’t think I should fraternize with the enemy more than I already have,” Lance said woefully. At this point, their animals had made it up the cliff and were casually trotting right next to the other. 

_Right,_ Keith thought. _The enemy._ Lance was here to compete against Keith and nothing less. They were supposed to be rivals, fighting against each other constantly in hopes of winning the heart of some random princess. Not cuddling next to soft animals and trying to impress the other. Nope. 

“Besides,” Lance yelled out over the wind. The beasts collectively decided to gain speed and give each other a friendly chase. “Can’t have you falling in love with me!” he shouted and gave Keith a wink and a shit-eating grin. 

_Haha, nevermind, false alarm folks, this kid is a grade A fucker,_ Keith thought as his face burned with a red blush. Believing that he might actually combust if he kept staring at Lance the way he was, Keith squeezed at Krasne’s sides and urged the Verpa to pass Blue. They continued through the sea of grass in a forced silence. Lance wondered what he did wrong. Keith wondered if he could perform CPR on himself. 

* * *

“Thank you all for gathering here,” Coran said to the mass of people. The crowd of lords and ladies were trying desperately to hide their annoyance at the sudden request for their presence. Dinner was only a half an hour away and everyone was becoming increasingly impatient. The Royal Advisor ignored the restless shuffles and continued to address the crowd.

“As you should know by now, King Alfor has recently informed our allied nations of the competition  being held next week for Princess Allura’s hand in marriage. However, due to the importance of this decision and seeing as all our competitors have arrived, the first event will be-”

The great wooden doors to the hall creaked open. Everyone turned to look at the intruders, glaring at the two men as they bashfully shuffled to the back of the crowd. Coran raised an eyebrow at the disturbance but continued nevertheless. 

“…as I was saying, the first event for Princess Allura’s hand will be held tomorrow on the tournament grounds. The competition will consist of a total of three events and each winner will be judged and determined by King Alfor, myself and Princess Allura. And, to honor our guests, we will be holding a delightful ball tomorrow evening! I got a brand new suit and everything! It has _tassels_ \- god I love tassels- and it’s a nice navy blue-“

“Coran!” someone in the crowd shouted. Obviously, the man’s distraction was a common occurrence and no one in the crowd had patience for it tonight. 

“Right-o! That’s all! Dismissed! Thanks!” Coran hopped off his platform and followed the guards out of the chamber. The lords and ladies discussed the news in hushed tones, wondering about what the competitions would entail and who would win. Everyone seemed thrilled at the idea.  

Lance turned to Keith, blabbering on about the events and his theories. In all the excitement, he never noticed the look of absolute panic that painted the prince's face.

**Author's Note:**

> yo thank you sooo much for reading this
> 
> i love getting feedback on the shit i make so pllleaase comment it makes my day (and speeds up the writing process lol)
> 
> anyway next chapter should be out in a couple days :D!
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://www.letlancelive.tumblr.com/)
> 
> sorry if there were a lot of grammar mistakes- i'll look it over in the morning but too tired now


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